A Prayer From The Heart

Jonathan, who had exerted himself to find ways to inspire his son to love Judaism, now sat back and watched as his son developed his own love for his religion.

“I walked around and said ‘thank you Hashem! How could it be that you helped me fulfill my vow?’ For me it was a miracle.”

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Alex began attending other Orthodox synagogues in the area and spent Shabbasos and Yomim Tovim with many local families. The embrace he received from local families was heartwarming.

“Nobody looked down on him because he wasn’t frum from birth. No one said anything about his different mannerisms,” Jonathan recalled. “The community was so very warm and accepting, like another family.”

Jonathan also began putting on tefillin and took on many mitzvot himself. He became Shomer Shabbat and he and Barbara eventually kashered their kitchen and joined a local Orthodox synagogue. After a very successful law career Jonathan retired at age 50 and now spends much of his time learning Torah.

Alex moved to New York and through a shadchan began dating a sweet young woman, a social worker. They married and are now raising five beautiful children, and iy”H are making aliyah this summer.

Jonathan says he still looks back on his life and marvels at the amazing interventions time and again by the hand of Hashem.

“The fact that He brought my son into the world when the doctors said there was a fifty-fifty chance he would die, and then brought him to be a frum Jew, it’s incredible,” he said. “I attribute it all to help from Hashem. He knows I want to get closer. He helps me every day.”

Jonathan, who once wondered how he would ever get his son close to Hashem, now knows he wasn’t the only one who wanted it. Hashem had an interest in it as well, and made it all come together.

Rabbi Michoel Gros is the author of “Homeward Bound: Inspiring Stories of Return” (Feldheim Distribution), a collection of dramatic and touching stories of Jews returning to their roots and uncovering hidden strengths.